Empyreal, Book 1

Chapter 21

Sarah descended into the dungeons, her slippered feet barely audible on the stone steps. At the bottom, two figures huddled in the gloom - Max and Kai, clutching at the bars of their cell.

"Sarah, you have to listen to us," Max pleaded, gripping the bars. "Malachi is manipulating you. Can't you see what he's turned you into?"

Sarah halted, a flicker of doubt dimming the glow in her eyes. But she shoved it away, straightening her shoulders.

"I am exactly who I was meant to become," she said coolly. "Malachi took me in when I was left alone. He showed me the truth of my power, what I could really be."

"He's poisoning your mind!" Kai exclaimed. "The Sarah we know would never hurt anyone. Please, you have to fight his control!"

She gazed at her reflection on the metal bars, at the desperation in those once familiar eyes. Once, she might have wavered. But Malachi's voice echoed in her mind, as compelling as any spell.

'You are mine now. Your old life is gone.'

Sarah wrenched her hands from Kai's grip, a sneer twisting her lips. "The Sarah you knew is dead. I suggest you accept your fate."

"No!" Max slammed a fist against the bars, his eyes burning. "We won't give up on you!

Can't you see what is happening?"

"The only thing I see," she said softly, "is that your time is running out."

She turned on her heel, their cries echoing behind her as she climbed the steps. Back in the hall, Malachi was waiting. He pulled her into his arms, his icy eyes gleaming.

"Well done, my queen. You did not falter."

Sarah gazed up at him, a grim smile twisting her lips.

Malachi brushed a kiss to her forehead, "The prophecy is nearly complete."

Sarah closed her eyes, leaning into his touch.

Malachi paused, glancing at her sidelong. "I was thinking, would you like to be the one to end their pathetic lives? Consider it a wedding gift."

"Gladly," she seethed. Vengeance simmered in her veins, hot and heady as poison.

Malachi placed a hand on Sarah's shoulder, "Get some rest, it's been a long day."

Sarah nodded, turning from him and making her way up the winding stone staircase to her bedroom. She could feel Malachi's gaze following her until she disappeared from view.

Upon entering her room, Sarah caught a glimpse of herself in the tall wardrobe mirror. She paused, staring at her reflection, hardly recognizing the face staring back. Her normally warm, amber eyes were now an ivy green, and devoid of light and warmth. As she ran her fingers through her hair, the once chestnut locks felt coarse and cold like strands of frosted grass. This was not the Sarah she knew.

"What's happening to me?" she whispered. A shudder rippled through her body and she wrapped her arms around herself, but the cold seemed to emanate from within.

Reaching up, she gently placed her fingers on her cheeks. She felt nothing, no remorse or hesitation at the loss of who she once was. That naive girl was gone, leaving only this frigid, empty shell behind.

Sarah's hands dropped to her sides, her knuckles white as she clenched her fists. A frost crept across the surface of the mirror before her. She welcomed the cold emptiness inside her, letting it consume the last dying embers of warmth.

Turning from the mirror, Sarah moved silently to the window and gazed out at the halfmoon hanging in the night sky. Its pale light called to her, beckoning the darkness forth. She embraced it fully now, letting it transform her into someone - something - powerful and merciless.